A retired Cumberland County Technical Education Center instructor has officially lost his teaching certification because of allegations of inappropriate behavior with a student, according to a New Jersey Department of Education Board of Examiners decision released on Thursday.

The allegations against Ronald Moreno, who is also a retired lieutenant for the Camden City Police Department, date back to 2012 when he allegedly placed his hand up a student's skirt — identified in the decision as "A.H." — during a school field trip in Washington, D.C.

"Another student alleged that she read text messages between A.H. and Moreno which included references to Moreno being 'hard,' lotion/soap, animals having sex, a discussion mentioning that A.H. got her period and Moreno asking 'Have you ever had sex while you had your period?' and a text from Moreno regarding the end of the trip and taking A.H. home and parking 'out of view of the security cameras.'"

Between April 18, 2012 and May 11, 2012, Moreno allegedly exchanged 1,857 text messages with the student.

According to the decision, the New Jersey State Police also investigated a consensual relationship between Moreno and the student — before she turned 18 years old — but no charges were filed.

The State Board of Examiners reviewed the information supplied by the Cumberland County Technical Education Center on Sept. 21, 2012 and sent Moreno an Order to Show Cause on Dec. 5, 2012, where he denied any allegations.

The case was sent to the Office of Administrative Law in fall of 2013 and again in January 2014 to be heard by Administrative Law Judge John R. Futey.

Futey filed an initial decision on May 19, 2014, using information provided by the technical school and students enrolled in the school at the time.

According to the decision, Moreno was on a field trip in March 2012 when A.H. left her hotel room and went to his room. They were discovered by a female chaperone.

A.H. would also rest her head on his shoulder during an awards ceremony during the field trip and again while riding the bus home. Moreno also drove A.H. home after the bus returned to the school.

Also during the field trip, two students reportedly saw "many sexually explicit text messages" between Moreno and A.H. on the student's phone.

The judge did not condone the "snooping and spying" done by the two students, according to the decision, but, "their indiscretions in that regard cannot excuse or diminish the scurrilous nature of the text exchanges between the teacher and student."

In addition to the two students, A.H. also testified to the judge but her testimony was found "to be less credible and her testimony not worthy of belief."

The Board of Examiners adopted the judge's initial decision on July 15 and formally adopted the decision on July 24 that Moreno's actions violated the degree of self-restraint and controlled behavior required by professional employees trusted with the care of school children.

"In this case, Moreno's action of inappropriate touching a student's leg and putting his hand up her skirt, without more, certainly satisfies that requirement," the decision states.

"His added behavior of exchanging sexually explicit texts with her, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder on numerous occasions, allowing her to enter his hotel room while on school field trips and driving her home from a field trip only amplifies the litany of his offenses. Moreno's conduct amply demonstrates that he crossed a boundary that should exist between teacher and student."

The certifications now revoked from Moreno are his teacher of elementary school, teacher of data processing, teacher of computer science technology and teacher of law enforcement certification.

Moreno was employed by the technical school from 1996 to 2012, where he retired following the allegations. Previously he was employed by the Camden City Police Department from 1971 to 1996.